Fits of Clarity
by teeceecee
Summary: I knew it was never a good idea to go against my instincts, but after 10 tequila shots, a bright blue light and a strange explosion later, I found myself strapped to a metal table with an eye patch wearing director and the famous talking tin can looming over me, claiming I've been infected by alien radiation. Yup, I should never have went against my instincts. Steve/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**A big hello to everyone reading this! So this is my first foray into the Avengers fandom and I am completely excited to be writing this story. I hope you guys like it too and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to review or PM me. I write better when I listen to songs so to get the feel of this chapter, listen to:**

**Murdered Love - P.O.D**

* * *

I've never really been the type of girl that was into soap operas.

Especially the stories where a girl's life gets complicated when she meets a boy – there were just too much problems and not enough time on screen to solve them.

Or maybe I'm just pragmatic?

Whatever.

Solving problems was one thing that I was always good at and naturally I'd try to stay away from them if I could.

That's the reason why when I accepted my roommates offer to go clubbing on Friday night, I thought I had lost it.

Looking back, it was one of the worst mistakes of my life.

But it was also a pivotal moment for this story to begin.

* * *

The music was too loud and the ten or so tequila shots that were currently making its merry way in my system weren't exactly helping.

"Clare, wanna join Jeremy and his friend's for another round of shots?" my roommate Tia shouted over the vibrating bass, the pulsating lights from the club reflecting in her excited blue eyes.

I grimaced as I glanced over at the unnaturally dyed blonde sitting with his group of rowdy henchmen who were throwing jeers and catcalls at any woman who passed by their table.

I blew a chestnut strand of hair away from my face as I shook my head.

"No offense Tia, but I value my virtue too much and honestly I feel the heebie jeebies coming 'round when I venture into his space," I said loudly as her face dropped slightly.

I felt kinda guilty for letting her down but that was the truth; I didn't want any of those slimy douche bags near me.

She laughed. "Oh come on Clare, it wouldn't be that bad," she said and proceeded to give me one of her full force Tia-esque pouts that would be more suited to persuade someone of the opposite sex rather than, well… Me.

I shook my head. "Sorry Tia, but I wouldn't want my face to be plastered all over the papers the next day as a victim of date rape – especially when people see _who_ exactly raped me."

I threw a glance at Jeremy and found him trying to regurgitate his half drunk beer. I turned back to give her a pointed look.

"Like embarrassment of a lifetime," I said with a roll of my eyes.

Tia stifled a giggle as she nodded.

"Fine, the music was getting old anyway – let's get back," she offered and I nodded gratefully.

We swiftly picked our purses up and left through the back door.

I shivered when I felt the cool September air on my face as I wrapped my cardigan closer around my body.

Cursing myself for choosing a completely inappropriate outfit for an autumn night, I glanced down at my tank top and shorts combo.

"Ugh, I miss summer," Tia groaned as she ran a hand through her ginger red hair.

"Ha, that's what you always say when it's autumn but when it's summer – completely the opposite," I quipped.

We both carefully made our way down the dark alleyway as I looked over my shoulder.

I could have sworn I felt something off.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to ask her if she felt weird too, she suddenly paused and glanced at me with a strange look on her face.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what? My rational side screaming?" I added sarcastically but nonetheless kept my ears peeled for any sound that might alert us to anything suspicious.

Tia shook her head.

"No, listen," she said and I did.

The sound was high pitch, keening and sounded like it was coming from above, almost like a-

"Tia, move!" I screeched as an object fell from the sky, like a nuclear bomb. I had managed to push her out of the way but unknowingly put myself in the frontline.

I screamed when I felt the white hot sparks from the impact collide with my skin. But that was not what was painful.

A blue light seemed to engulf me, pulsating around me and nearly blinding me.

I fell to the floor as I felt what seemed to be like a 1000 hot needles prickling into my skin at the same time.

The same heat was trying to claw its way into my body, from my eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

The pain was overwhelming, it hit me everywhere and the last thing I remembered was Tia screaming something at me and a panicked male voice sounding from the background.

* * *

I was wrong.

The pain was overwhelming. It was _agonizing_.

I tried to fight the wave of unconsciousness attempting to pull me back but to no avail.

I weaved between the lines of consciousness and darkness so many times I had lost count. My skin felt numb, and my eyes felt heavy like lead.

Like a fever dream, images and flashes started coming into my mind, bits and pieces that didn't make sense.

Vaguely, I heard somebody murmuring but wasn't sure if it was my imagination or not.

Curious, I tried to focus my hearing but could only get snippets of what a male voice was saying.

"… Freak accident… Gamma radiation… From outer space…"

Freak accident?

Suddenly I was wide awake as if someone had injected me with ice serum in my veins. Gasping, I pried my eyes open but was greeted with a too bright light, shining down on me and momentarily blinding my cornea.

Squinting to adjust my eyes, I found that I was in a lab of some sort with beeping machines and holographs floating in front of me. I wondered what the information on the screen showed as I focused on it.

It was then that I realized that the holographs were actually information about me. From my birth date to where I was born and what university I was currently studying in.

A particular report under the name of 'Mutant Investigation' caught my eye as I stared at a floating image of me, surrounded by a web of blinking neon red lights.

"Where – Where am I?" I croaked and tried to crane my neck around but found that I couldn't.

Panic seized me by the throat as I tried to move but found that I was literally and figuratively, immobilized.

I chanced a peek down and to my horror; I saw that my body was strapped down to a metal table. But that was not what had horrified me.

It was my skin.

My previous olive colored tone was replaced by crackly blue epidermis, with bulging veins crisscrossing the surface of it like a spider web.

I tried remain calm but I couldn't.

What _was_ happening to me?

Where _am_ I?

And that was when I promptly screamed.

"Calm down, everything's alright," a strange and gruff male voice said.

I tried to see who was it but my vision was strictly restrained on those strange screens.

Suddenly, a tall man dressed in black appeared in front of view and I flinched in surprise. He radiated an air of control and badass-ness as he gazed at me coolly.

I then noticed that one of his eyes was covered by an eye patch and there were three prominent scars running from his temple down to the said covered eye.

"Clarity Jane Davis" he said in a no nonsense tone. "My name is Nick Fury and I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm sorry for the inconvenience but we had to strap you down until Dr. Banner concocts a tranquilizer to stabilize your body's reaction to the radiation."

I nodded, trying to process what he said as I tried to control my trembling.

"What exactly happened to me?" I asked and cursed myself when my voice came out meek and almost incoherent.

The muscle in his jaw twitched as he glanced at me in apathy.

"You were infected with a foreign gamma radiation from an alien artifact called the Tessaract," he explained as my hazel eyes grew wide.

"How did that happen?"

Nick Fury sighed as he cast his inscrutable gaze towards the holograms.

"We're not exactly sure either," he said as his lips mashed into a thin line.

Before I could open my mouth and say something, the door to the lab opened and another male voice drifted in.

"So, is that strange Na'vi girl awake yet?" an obnoxious voice sounded from behind me.

Nick Fury cast his eyes (the one that worked anyway) to the ceiling as if asking for divine intervention.

"Stark, how many times must I tell you _not_ to interfere?" the director asked between clenched teeth.

"Whoa, calm down Mad Eye Moody, I heard you, but I just wanted to see if she is as freaky as Bruce said-

He trailed off when he got a good look at me and it was comical to see how his shock reaction turned to one of glee.

"Oh, Steve has to so pay me up," he said as a grin graced his face.

I looked at him in confusion before it finally set in.

"Tony Stark? As in _the_ Iron Man?" I asked and couldn't stop the awe from creeping into my tone.

"Don't inflate his ego anymore than it's already the size of his arse," Nick Fury said as he shot a disapproving look at Tony.

Tony scoffed.

"Please, try my head on for size," he said as he extended his hand towards me.

"Tony Stark, owner of Stark industries, infamous Iron Man and official irritator of Claus Von Staffenberg right here," he said as he gestured to the not amused director.

Giving him a pointed look, that's when he finally noticed that my hands were currently useless as he gave me a sort of sheepish grin.

"Nice to meet you too," I replied and immediately I felt myself warming up to him.

A sudden alarm blaring in the lab made me wince and Nick Fury looked almost worried as he glanced at the holograms.

A searing pain suddenly attacked me out of nowhere as my body bowed of its own accord from the table. I let out a scream of bloody murder.

"Stark, get out of here, she's in the midst of one of her power surges and-

He was cut off when a bright blue light started emitting from my body as I couldn't control the spark of blue electric flying from my fingers.

Simultaneously, Tony and the director flattened themselves against the ground, away from the white hot sparks that were coming from my digits.

I tried to control the pain by gritting my teeth but it didn't work as wave after wave of agony coursed through my body.

"Stark! The lever!" Nick Fury shouted at him above the blaring sirens as Tony crawled towards one of the tables at the far end of the room and pulled down a lever.

A sudden shock of current went through my body as I felt the pain slowly ebbing away.

I almost whimpered in relief and didn't have it in me to fight the dark veil that shrouded my vision.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone :) So, this is where they both meet... Where the _sparks fly _if you will ;) I hope you guys enjoy this. Listen to:**

**Let It Burn - Red (love, love, love this song!)**

* * *

My ragged breathing was the first thing that greeted my ears as I slowly pried my eyes open.

Checking all my vitals and current conditions, I realized that everything was still the same as before.

I sighed as I let my head sink back to the cool table but that was when I saw someone staring at me from my peripheral- upside down vision.

The person's face was shrouded in the darkness as my eyes met with pensive blue ones.

Giving an agitated groan, I gestured at them to come to the front so I wouldn't have to strain my neck just to catch a glimpse.

"If you want to talk to me, could you please do so in front of my face-my neck isn't exactly that elastic or flexible as it used to be," I said with as much sarcasm in my tone as I could muster.

I heard the silhouette give a chuckle before it came into view.

No, scratch that- before_ he_ came into view.

I didn't mean to stare, honest to goodness I didn't, but when I when he came into my sights…

Let's just say I probably impressed him with my Bug eyes impression.

With his tall stature, piercing blue eyes and chiseled face, it was _hardly_ my fault.

Dressed in a simple olive button down shirt and a brown leather jacket, his style was retro 1940's but it didn't take away the commanding aura he had around him.

As if he had seen one too many battles.

He held his hands up in surrender as he gave a low chuckle.

"Sorry, didn't mean to loom," he said, his tone low and smooth.

Oh, goodness… His voice- it could make chocolate look coarse and unrefined.

I didn't know why, but at the sound of his voice, a shudder ran through me as I miserably tried to cover it up as being cold.

Thankfully, he didn't notice.

Shaking those thoughts away, I gave him a small smile as the first time in history, me, the Queen of Sarcasm and Wit had nothing to say to this gorgeous stranger.

It was a few moments before my mush of a brain could figure out what to say.

Talk about a mental cringing.

"It's okay, just gets tiring having to strain all the time" I said as I gave him a small smile.

He nodded as he scrutinized my body.

Flushing, I wanted to tell him to quit it but something was lodged in my throat.

"Yes, it doesn't look really comfortable at all," he said and there was a hint of worry in his tone.

His brow furrowed as if he was contemplating something before making up his mind.

"Would you like me to fetch you a blanket or something warmer?" he asked and I despite myself, I felt a blush heat my face from his kind gesture.

"Um, no thank you, besides, I don't think Nick Cury or _whatever_ his name is would want you to interfere with his precious 'Mutant Investigation'," I said in a scathing tone.

"Don't worry, he's just as confused as we all are- wow, where are my manners," he said as he seemed to catch himself.

"My name's Agent Steve Rogers," he said in a polite tone as I smiled shyly.

"Clarity Davis," I replied.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Davis," he said as he gave me a perfunctory nod of his head.

"Clare will do," I said simply.

Something about his name had been niggling at the back of my brain since he said it and that was when I realized-

"You're Captain America?" I asked curiously as he tensed but he gave a wary nod anyway.

"Wow, who knew getting blasted with ancient alien radiation would get you a front seat to meet America's most famous heroes," I mused as he grinned at my words.

"Perks, I guess," he said with a shrug as he took a seat on a chair beside the table.

Wiggling, I tried to find a comfortable spot but to no avail.

"Hey, Steve, you know why they have to strap me down this tight?" I asked innoxiously as I tried moving around again.

"It's just until Dr. Banner creates a serum to help with your power surges," he said as he gave me a strange look, his piercing gaze feeling as if he could see through my soul.

A moment of tense silence passed as we just stared at each other.

"Do I have something weird on my face?" I blurted out and that was when I realized that maybe he was staring at my creepy blue skin.

Glancing down, I gave a small sigh of relief as I noticed that my skin had returned back to its original hue.

"No, it's just that, I'm too wondering how the radiation could have affected you- Dr. Banner has this theory but I'm not too sure what it is," he said with an apologetic look on his face.

Suddenly, realizing that there were more pressing matters to ask- and cursing myself for getting distracted, I decided to ask him.

"What happened to Tia?" I asked as panic clouded my tone.

"Your roommate?" he asked as I nodded frantically.

"She's fine… Although I think S.H.I.E.L.D is working on her memories," he said as my brown eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my face a mask of horror.

"Miss Davis, you have to realize that information like this is not suitable for a civilian to hold much less witness and S.H.I.E.L.D has this policy of exterminating memories regarding top secret projects," he explained as I could've sworn my breathing stopped for a while.

"Tell me…" I trailed off as I swallowed noisily trying hard not to stammer.

"Tell me they're not torturing her," I whispered out as flashes of Tia's panicked face made me want to hurl.

Steve placed his hand on my shoulders as he attempted to sooth me.

"Miss Davis, you shouldn't worry too much, your friend will not be harmed," he said in a calming tone.

"When I found her she was shaken up but nonetheless she acquiesced to having her memories of _only_ that night erased," he emphasized.

I couldn't stop the trembling I felt at his words as I gritted my teeth.

"Wait, you were the one that found me?" I asked as the shaking was taking control of my body.

He nodded, looking perplexed before I recognized the tell tale signs of another power surge.

"Steve," I gasped. "Get out of the way-"

My voice was cut out when a loud blare of the sirens could be heard as the pain once again surged through me.

I gritted my teeth, willing not to scream as I did before as a look of pure panic crossed Steve's face.

"Miss Davis, what's wrong? How can I help?" he asked frantically as I noticed that he didn't have a single clue as to what to do.

"The lever," I gasped as his eyes scanned the room and found the red lever.

"When the sparks come, just press it down," I ordered as the chattering of my teeth made it hard for me to continue without accidently biting my tongue.

"What does it do?" he asked, horrified as he his hand hovered uncertainly over the lever.

"Electric shocks," I whimpered as I heard him give a sharp intake of breath.

The sparks were already escaping my fingertips as my body shined a dangerous blue.

A hiss escaped from my clenched teeth as I gestured wildly for him to just pull the freaking lever- I didn't know how much pain I could handle as it was.

"Miss Davis, I-

He trailed off as he looked to the lever and back at me again. "I can't," he said finally, retracting his hand as I wanted to scream in frustration.

"It's not right, replacing the pain with more pain," he explained in a rush tone.

Dimly, I knew that what he said was true but that wasn't going to stop the pain anytime soon.

"Steve, if you don't help me now, I'll burn this whole place down," I said as I tried breathing through the waves of pain that relentlessly crashed down on me- but to no avail.

The sparks were slowly turning into flames.

He noticed it as his eyes widened. His jaw then clenched as a look of determination shadowed his eyes.

Steve turned and rushed to the exit.

"Hey! Please tell me you're not going to leave me here?" I called over the din, the pleading panic in my voice doubling.

"No," he replied as he looked at me with something akin to desperation.

"_I'm going to get Dr. Banner._"


End file.
